Luxe: Paris Match

PARIS MATCH CONTEMPORARY ART AND FURNISHINGS FILL A HOUSTON HOME INSPIRED BY APARTMENTS IN THE CITY OF LIGHT. WRITTEN BY CHRISTINE DEORIO / PHOTOGRAPHY BY PÄR BENGTSSON

ARCHITECTURE / KRISTIN SCHUSTER, GSMA, INC. INTERIOR DESIGN / MEG LONERGAN AND TAYLOR WHALEY, MEG LONERGAN INTERIORS HOME BUILDER / DENNIS BRITT, PINTAIL CONSTRUCTION

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f there is any question whether art plays a huge role in the lives of this Houston home’s owners, one need only look around the dining room, where sculptural pieces by Roi James and Paul Rousso punctuate the ivory walls.

Or one could take a glance inside the media room, where wood paneling perfectly frames a vibrant tableau by photographer Chuck Ramirez. Or one might also simply ask designer Meg Lonergan and architect Kristin Schuster, who redesigned the traditional house to accommodate much of the couple’s impressive contemporary-leaning collection.

“The art was the impetus for everything,” Lonergan says.

The project began when the owners sought Lonergan’s advice on whether to move forward with a house they recently contracted to buy in a coveted enclave of historical homes near the Houston Museum District.

Lonergan had helped design the couple’s previous

residence on a nearby street and understood their style, which she describes as “very modern with an undercurrent of appreciation for beautiful things that are old.” After touring the new property—a grand 1939 Georgian Revival decorated in styles ranging from country French to French Baroque—Lonergan quickly realized the architectural details were far too ornate for the couple’s streamlined furnishings. But the designer had an idea. “Parisians are known for taking these 18th- and 19th-century buildings and throwing in amazing 20th- and 21st-century furniture,” she says, “so my advice to them was to transform this house to give it a modern, Parisian apartment feel.”

There was a caveat, however: Lonergan felt that only an ultra-modern kitchen would do. “Unless the kitchen completely spoke to that yin-and-yang juxtaposition of

Above: The music room’s gilded Louis Philippe mirror reflects iconic midcentury modern designs: a Poliedri Murano glass chandelier

by Carlo Scarpa from Jean-Marc Fray and Marco Zanuso-designed Lady Chairs, which flank an Egg Collective side table.

Opposite: The entry exemplifies designer Meg Lonergan’s skill at combining simple and ornate styles. The blue plaster Drag Light by Julien Carretero hangs above an antique table from Royal Antiques in New Orleans, which Lonergan updated with a new iron base.

Opposite: The media room’s wall paneling—fabricated by Artistic Woodworks by Montoya and painted Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke—frames a large-format photograph by Chuck Ramirez from Ruiz-Healy Art. A vintage Bruno Mathsson armchair from M Naeve contrasts with the modern furnishings.

Below: Lonergan calls the media room’s custom Randy Twaddle Studio rug from Carol Piper Rugs “one of my proudest design moments—it’s an unusual color combination that goes against natural instincts but works brilliantly.” Also unexpected is her combination of a lacquered wood coffee table, vintage Italian chandelier in the Stilnovo style, Mokum draperies from Holly Hunt and an H.G. Edwards painting.

Lonergan left the dining room floors bare. “It just felt like the French thing to do,” she says.

Gubi Beetle chairs in a Marvic Textiles antique linen velvet complement the sculptural Atelier de Troupe Cigale Double Sconce, Lindsey Adelman Branching Bubble chandelier and a work by Paul Rousso from Laura Rathe Fine Art.

Parisian apartments, it wouldn’t make sense.” So Lonergan and Schuster designed a kitchen with German manufacturer Eggersmann that set the tone for the house by pairing light lacquered cabinetry with the room’s existing wood floors and beamed ceiling.

Next, the design team considered the home’s most prominent architectural details. The parquet de Versailles wood floors would stay, as would the entry’s intricate iron stair railing. Schuster—who has since founded her own firm, Inflection Architecture—would replace the ornate moldings and paneling with profiles and proportions apropos of the period of the house, a move that “worked with the couple’s art collection,” she says. And walls would be plastered and painted an ivory hue, “so there was this blank canvas,

which meant we could choose where we wanted to add the excitement,” explains Lonergan, who worked with design assistant Taylor Whaley.

That wow factor comes from the art—including works by Gavin Rain, H.G. Edwards and Cristina Guerrero—but also from design details inspired by those works’ colors and textures. In the music room, a lacquered ceiling provides “a little surprise when you look up,” Lonergan says. In the breakfast room, the subtle metallic sheen of a handpainted Porter Teleo wallpaper catches the eye. The sun room’s surprise is the play on scale created by the rotund, Jean Royère-style polar bear sofa and chair. And in the dining room, it’s the sculptural glass-and-brass chandelier suspended from a mint-green plastered ceiling.

A painting by Gavin Rain from Laura Rathe Fine Art makes a bold statement in a sitting area.

Lonergan chose a peacock hue for B&B Italia’s Tufty-Time sofa, which tops an antique rug from Matt Camron Rugs & Tapestries.

The Apparatus Studio Trapeze wall sconces are from M Naeve.

In the sun room, Lonergan added natural textures: Pierre Jeanneret’s teak-and-cane armchair, a treeroot coffee table and replicas of Jean Royère’s iconic polar bear sofa and chair from M Naeve. The hand-molded plaster chandelier is Stephen Antonson; the Serge Mouille three-arm floor lamp is from Design Within Reach.

“MY ADVICE WAS TO TRANSFORM THIS HOUSE TO HAVE A PARISIAN APARTMENT FEEL.” –MEG LONERGAN

A grid of abstract works by Benjamin Edmiston from David Shelton Gallery transforms a corner of the master bedroom into an inviting space for lounging.

The elegant Landscape chaise lounge is a Jeffrey Bernett design for B&B Italia.

Such thoughtful, if unexpected, touches please these homeowners most. “I would describe our style as very detail-oriented,” the wife says. “We gravitate toward pieces with an artisanal quality, not necessarily things that read as fancy.” With that in mind, Lonergan, Schuster and builder Dennis Britt worked to fill the house with finely crafted details. In the husband’s bathroom, for example, Lonergan created the look of wall paneling by accenting floor-toceiling, book-matched travertine slabs with inlaid strips of brass. For the new mud room, Schuster designed built-in storage that accommodates “all the nitty-gritty details of how the family comes into and out of the house.” And in the music room—which evokes a Parisian parlor, with its

gilded Louis Philippe mirror, Marco Zanuso Lady Chairs and Murano glass chandelier—hidden sound-absorbing insulation ensures maximum enjoyment of the husband’s impressive collection of audio equipment and vintage vinyl.

Not very long ago, a glittery, candy-colored collage by San Antonio artist Kelly O’Connor caught the homeowners’ attention. A psychedelic commentary on pop culture, the artwork incorporates papers sampled from vintage record covers, described by the owners as an “ironically whimsical” choice for the music room. The piece now hangs above the room’s ornate marble fireplace, creating a striking contrast that’s not lost on a couple who know a thing or two about the magic of mixing old and new.

Walls by Segreto and Schumacher wool draperies form a clean backdrop in the master bedroom, where a mirror from M Naeve, which was discovered in Paris, hangs above a sleek De La Espada bed from the homeowners’ existing collection. To complement the crisp white bedding, Lonergan had a long accent pillow made from an antique Japanese textile from Carol Piper Rugs.